After Valentino Garavani, Giorgio Armani, Miuccia Prada, Ralph Lauren, Karl Lagerfeld, Anna Wintour, Yvon Chouinard (Patagonia), it’s Tom Ford’s turn to be honored with the Outstanding Achievement Award, by the British Fashion Council (BFC).
Tom Ford will be honored at the TFA Fashion Awards ceremony on Monday, December 2 at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Presented by Pandora, with The Peninsula London as official partner, this event is the BFC Foundation’s main source of funding. Its mission: “to celebrate the role of fashion at the intersection of culture and entertainment” by showcasing outstanding and inspiring creative talents.
Among them, Tom Ford particularly deserved the spotlight for his extraordinary career.
Outstanding contribution
Caroline Rush, Chief Executive of the British Fashion Council, praised the “ outstanding contribution to fashion, film and culture made by Tom Ford”, “a true innovator and fashion icon in his own right”.
“For more than thirty years, his visionary work has consistently pushed the boundaries in every field he has been involved in, whether it’s transforming Gucci into a fashion powerhouse, launching his incredibly successful eponymous brand, establishing a design studio in London or becoming an award-winning filmmaker.” she emphasized.
In honoring the 63-year-old American, the BFC is in fact saluting several artists in one, as well as an accomplished businessman…
First, there was the fashion artist, who left an indelible mark on the world of fashion.
Although he was destined for a career as an actor, Tom Ford owes the first part of his career to a combination of circumstances.
It was because his dark, handsome physique didn’t match the Californian blond criteria demanded by the film industry at the time that the Santa Fe, New Mexico native turned to architecture studies. He then enrolled at the famous Parsons School of Design, first in New York, then for two years at its Paris branch.
Fashion and business acumen
His undeniable fashion sense and American business acumen were to flourish at Gucci, which he joined in 1990. Initially head designer of women’s wear, he was appointed Creative Director in 1994.
A super Creative Director with a broad remit, a new job definition in fashion, he was to handle not only ready-to-wear styling, but alsoaccessories, image, marketing, licensing and distribution. It’s a global model that would later be adopted by others, notably Hedi Slimane (Dior Homme, Yves Saint Laurent and then Celine).
At Gucci, Tom Ford will be Mr. “Porno chic”, a trend he initiated during his tenure. In his highly suggestive campaigns, he relies on the famous Peruvian photographer Mario Testino.
The electroshock imparted to the esteemed House of Gucci, on the brink of bankruptcy when he arrived, proved salutary, making it “one of the most important and profitable luxury brands”.
Tom Ford is not alone at the helm of Gucci, however. He forms an effective tandem with CEO and President Domenico De Sole, who is also responsible for the Florentine House’s success.
Glamorous and desirable
With his glamorous, desirable designs inspired by the 50s, Tom Ford seduced stars such as Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow, as well as customers.
Different times, different customs: his hyper-sexualized style would probably not be welcomed with the same enthusiasm today, when our era is marked by a prudish, even prudish retreat…
In 1999, the Gucci group was bought by PPR (now Kering), with the support of Tom Ford. Anxious not to see his power diluted, the artistic director opposed the ambitions of LVMH, also a candidate for the takeover…
At PPR, on the other hand, he saw his power strengthened as the group headed by François Pinault also acquired the Yves Saint Laurent fashion house. Tom Ford now combines his position at Gucci with that of Director of Creation and Communications at Yves Saint Laurent Couture, in charge of Left Bank luxury ready-to-wear and accessories.
Disappointment at Yves Saint Laurent
But while his work was almost unanimously acclaimed at Gucci, it disappointed some at Yves Saint Laurent, starting with the eponymous couturier himself and some fashion critics, who criticized him for “cutting and pasting” Gucci recipes. Nor was it a commercial success.
Yet Tom Ford continued to win awards for his work at Gucci, including Best International Designer at the inaugural VH1/Vogue Awards in New York in 2000.
In 2004, amid tensions with PPR, Tom Ford left Gucci/PPR. In April 2005, he founded his own brand, offering ready-to-wear, fragrances and accessories (leather goods, sunglasses) for men and women. The brand enjoyed “rapid success”.
In 2022, the Estée Lauder Companies group bought his House, and Tom Ford handed over the style reins to devote more time to his new passion, cinema. After a brief spell with Peter Hawkins, Haider Ackermann has just been appointed Artistic Director.
Award-winning screenwriter, producer and director
For his part, Tom Ford is now “an award-winning screenwriter, producer and director”. His first film, A Single Man, written, produced and directed in 2009, was nominated for an Oscar. The second, “Nocturnal Animals, premiered in 2016 and won the Grand Jury Prize-Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, three Golden Globe nominations (including one winner, Best Actor), nine BAFTA nominations and an Oscar nomination”.
However, Tom Ford has not forgotten his old loves. From June 2019 to May 2022, during the delicate Covid period, he was president of the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America).
“During his tenure,” recalls BFC, ”he diversified the board and membership, launched the A Common Thread relief initiative with Vogue to support fashion companies during the pandemic, significantly increased the CFDA scholarship fund and strengthened New York Fashion Week.
And two months before the presentation of the Outstanding Achievement Award, Tom Ford said he was honored and “very grateful for this prestigious award” from the British Fashion Council, an award “particularly close to my heart”, as he has “spent a large part of his life in London.”
He explains that he has “concentrated on creativity and the love of beauty and style” during his “35 years in the fashion world”. But he also draws a parallel between fashion and film, requiring “both collaborative efforts”.
“You have to have a vision and communicate it to a team of talented people,” he said, before ‘thanking everyone’ who has supported him along the way.
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Read also > Haider Ackermann takes up Tom Ford’s scissors
Featured Photo: © Tom Ford
